Victim-Blaming

Victim-blaming is the attitude which suggests that the victim rather than the perpetrator bears responsibility for the assault.

Victim-blaming occurs when it is assumed that an individual did something to provoke the violence by actions, words, or dress. Many people would rather believe that someone caused their own misfortune because it makes the world seem a safer place, but victim-blaming is a major reason that survivors of sexual and domestic violence do not report their assaults. Many survivors are already grappling with feelings of guilt and shame for what has happened. It is essential that administrators do not reinforce these feelings. No matter what they were wearing, how much they had to drink, or whether they had a previously consensual relationship with the perpetrator, the victim should not be blamed. It is never the victim's fault. Victim-blaming advice to drink less, if it works at all to lessen the threat of violence for one individual, merely displaces the violence. It is the equivalent of saying "You don't have to outrun the bear, you just have to outrun your slowest friend." It is essentially telling the potential victim to make sure the rapist rapes someone else.